Many known chemical products such as surfactants, plasticizers, solvents, and polymers are currently manufactured from non-renewable, expensive, petroleum-derived or natural gas-derived feedstock compounds. High raw material costs and uncertainty of future supplies requires the discovery and development of surfactants, plasticizers, solvents, and polymers that can be made from inexpensive renewable biomass-derived feedstocks and by simple chemical methods. Certain polyol compounds can be inexpensive and renewable compounds that are readily available. Oxocarboxylic acids such as pyruvic, acetoacetic, and levulinic acid (and related useful derivatives such as esters) represent another abundant feedstock that is prepared on an industrial scale. Chemical products produced from these two types of materials can fill a need for inexpensive, renewable consumer and industrial products not based on petroleum or other nonrenewable resource.